Chapter 839  Picnic


    "Oh, this is quite delicious. Did Nova prepare this?" Aron asked with a smirk as he tasted the food. He was sitting in an open field that looked more like a picnic spot than a meeting ground.


    Before he could even swallow, he had to tilt his head to the side to dodge a fireball flying straight at him.


    "Don’t you know you shouldn’t even disturb a dog while it’s eating?" he said with a laugh, glancing at his wife, who had just attempted to give him an impromptu facial makeover.


    "You were asking for it," Rina replied casually as she poured mango juice into their glasses—his favorite.


    "Nevertheless, it’s delicious," Aron said, setting aside his joke as he genuinely complimented her cooking. It wasn’t something she did often—mostly because she didn’t need to—but he appreciated it all the same. He took the glass of mango juice from her with a nod of thanks.


    It was why they had made it a tradition for them to have these picnics at least once every few months—where they handled everything themselves, from preparation and cooking to cleaning, without relying on technology or workers. It was just one of the many types of dates they made sure to do at least once a month.


    Of course, this also meant she had to learn how to cook the conventional way, which had led to their enhanced metabolism coming in handy more than a few times in the early days of these picnic-style dates.


    Rina smirked as she took a sip of her own juice, watching Aron enjoy the meal. “I’m assuming it’s safe to say I’ve improved?”


    Aron chuckled, nodding as he took another bite. “I’d say we’ve moved past the ‘survival training’ phase, yeah.”


    She rolled her eyes but laughed along with him. “Well, if you hadn’t insisted on doing this without any AI assistance or knowledge assimilation, maybe we wouldn’t have needed that ‘survival training’ in the first place.”


    “That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” Aron said, stretching his legs out on the grass. “For once, no tech, no empire, just us... and maybe a few near-death experiences from your early cooking.”


    He reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. “Not that I’m complaining,” he added with a smirk before leaning in to kiss her.


    Rina chuckled softly at his words, squeezing his hand. “You really are hopeless when it comes to resting,” she teased, tilting her head to look at him.


    Aron smirked. “Says the one who once spent three straight days refining a single magic cycle because she ‘almost had it.’”


    She huffed, nudging him playfully. “That was different. I was onto something.”


    “And I’m not?” he shot back, raising an eyebrow.


    She laughed at that, shaking her head. “Fine, fine. I guess we both have a problem.”


    They fell into a comfortable silence, watching the sky deepen into twilight as the night settled around them. The first stars began to pierce through the fading light, their glow steady and serene. A cool breeze drifted past, carrying the distant hum of nature, adding to the quiet intimacy of the moment. Despite the intensity of their earlier activities, everything now felt calm—almost weightless—as if the world had slowed just for them.


    “You know,” Rina eventually said, her voice quieter now, “these moments... they remind me why we push so hard. It’s not just about power or progress—it’s about making sure we still get to have things like this. Time, freedom, each other.”


    Aron turned his head to look at her, his expression softening. “Yeah,” he agreed, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. “That’s why we have to be prepared.”


    She nodded, then smirked. “But first, we have to survive two weeks of you trying not to sneak off and work.”


    Aron groaned, rolling onto his back dramatically. “Easier said than done.”


    Rina laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’ll make sure you don’t.”